


filler

by Reveren



Category: Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28766850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reveren/pseuds/Reveren
Summary: Ina gets herself a new roommate. She also gets herself a new alarm clock in the process.(Or: snippets of life between two unlike roommates as they grow closer over the semesters.)
Relationships: Ninomae Ina'nis/Takanashi Kiara
Comments: 10
Kudos: 62





	filler

The new semester is always rough.

It’s not the courses and increased workload that bothers Ina, nor is it the fact that she once again has to endure the strange occurrences that happen around her community building. She’s not stressed at having to keep a close eye on her wallet either, planning out her schedule of what’s for dinner this school year in advance, and she actually looks forward to busying herself until the next break arrives before she ultimately drowns herself in even more assignments after it ends, the cycle repeating for more years to come until graduation. 

It’s better to go along with the flow, she learned. Ina accepts a lot of things with ease, and for the most part, she just let things happen—it’s just her potential _roommate_ that she’s the most concerned about around this time. 

Someone new always comes into her life. A different kind of character that she’ll spend months with getting to know through the hard way. Their habits, their mannerisms, their personal information that somehow manages to get leaked—Ina gets to know her roommate little by little, everyday, intentionally or not. 

Not all of them were bad; some of them were actually nicer than expected and fit the criteria of the survey she had filled out for roommate matching. They were the spare few she was lucky to have met but not enough to persuade in living with her again for the remaining semesters. 

Meanwhile, the ones that weren’t her ideal roommates were, to put it nicely as possible, interesting. 

They weren’t necessarily terrible individuals, but there were definitely more conflicts Ina found herself getting in with them. It was a clash of morals and rules usually, never escalating farther than an unnerving silence and a strange air between them by the end and a passive-aggressive remark here and there. There are no warm smiles or a “it was nice living with you” when they pack up and leave, leaving her alone in the half-empty dorm. 

She absolutely dreads the very first day of semester. Move-in days are always so chaotic, students switching up their assigned dorm and apartment complexes all the time. Just as they’re swift to introduce themselves, they’re twice as fast to leave with embarrassment once they realize they’ve mixed up the last two glaring numbers on their key. At this point, it can be considered a law in the world of college getting your dorm wrong. 

It's already evening. The footsteps outside are slowing down, and the people wandering around the campus are few and sparse. Ina sits in her room quietly, mindlessly drawing on her tablet until the door is opened for the eighth time, and a head pokes in from the entrance way. She spares them a glance, spotting a blur of orange hair, before the door is shut again and her head lowers with slight annoyance. 

But then the door opens for a second time, and that same blur of orange enters, dragging behind them a couple of suitcases. Small curses are whispered throughout the hall. Ina stares at their shadow, considers the consequences of her actions, before finally making her way through the tiny hallway where they meet. 

The first thing that stands out to her is that they’re _tall._ Lean. Their clothes seem light and easy to move in, and a sports bag is slung over their shoulder. The athletic type maybe? 

Ina observes them quietly, waiting for them to notice her presence, until it’s clear that wasn’t happening any time soon. She coughs. 

“He...hello.”

 _Oof._ She cringes at the sound of her own voice; it’s been a while since she’s last spoken to anyone outside of her family on the phone. The stranger finally spins around, a huge beam slipping on their face when the two of them meet face-to-face. 

Her eyes are pretty. They remind Ina of amethyst—but not quite.

“Hi! Nice to meet you!”

They’re loud, _very_ loud, in fact, and Ina’s not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. She offers a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Are you…?”

“Living here? Yes ma’am!” A key is raised, brandishing the dorm room’s number. It shines brightly, almost enveloped in a golden light coming from the lamp. “I, Kiara Takanashi, am your roommate for this semester!”

She strikes a cute pose for her introduction before quickly going back to normal and fixing her appearance, a bashful chuckle coming from under her breath. Ina simply nods, still but bemused (and even a little intrigued) by the strange character shown to her thus far. Her eyes glaze over to the ID worn around Kiara’s neck, the spelling of her name printed boldly under her photo. 

Ina hasn’t heard of the surname before since moving here; then again, no one’s heard anything quite like _hers_ either. “I’m Ina’nis Ninomae, but you can just call me Ina for short,” she says, looking back up at her. “I hope we can...get along, Kiara.”

The statement come out so forced and awkwardly that it has the power to cut the conversation short right there. Kiara doesn’t seem fazed in the slightest though; her laugh rings throughout the silence. “Of course! I actually just transferred here, so I hope we can become good friends.”

There’s a brief pause before she winks at Ina. 

“Especially since we’re going to be seeing each other quite _enough_ times.”

Ina blinks, mouth agape—and then she laughs when it dawns on her a few seconds later, flustered and taken back at the sudden pun. Kiara is grinning again, looking proud of herself as she fumbles for her room on the opposite side of the other room. The door struggles to open with multiple tries until it finally unlocks after the seventh attempt and she steps inside the room. 

A pointed look is given at Ina.

“Don’t be a stranger, okay! I mean it. I get lonely sometimes.”

Ina doesn’t promise it, but to make things easier for the both of them, she pretends to. It’s highly doubtful they’ll speak to each other like today. Ina already knows that her roommate’s just being polite with these friendly introductions and only wanted to leave a good impression. She’s used to the routine, knows how it'll play out like the back of her hand.

“I’ll be here,” Ina answers, the words feeling foreign and strange on her tongue. The lie is empty and hollow, but it's fine. 

Kiara doesn't know that, or maybe, she actually hopes for it deep down inside. She gives one last smile, a twinkle in her eyes, before closing the door behind her with a small wave. Ina lingers there just a little longer, listening to the soft shuffling from the other side, before eventually going back to her room and doing the same. She rests her eyes as she slumps back into her chair, tired despite doing nothing all day.

It's finally quiet. The sun is setting outside, and the buildings and streetlights are beginning to light up. Ina's stomach rumbles loudly, reminding her of the limited choices she has for dinner: frozen food bought from the school's canteen or the half-eaten sandwich in the fridge from yesterday. Her mind drifts back to Kiara as Ina wonders what she would have, if she was even hungry.

_'Enough’... That was a good one._

A giggle escapes from under her breath as Ina recalls it. Picking up her stylus again and putting an alarm set for tonight's meal, she returns to her canvas, inking her doodles hues of oranges, greens, and blues. She doesn't realize the smile that lasts on her lips until she spots her reflection from the window and forces herself to stop with a pinch on the cheeks.

This semester was going to pass and end like usual, there's no doubt about that. But a small part of Ina is looking forward to what could happen anyway, foolishly hoping that this year will be different. 

**Author's Note:**

> me desperately trying to ignore the "official" relationships in holomyth when writing this: this goes out to all my fellow rarepair enthusiasts (literally five of us)
> 
> not much happens in this chapter, sorry about that, just needed to set everything up first! might rewrite it if i'm still unsatisfied with it. heads up this fic will mostly just be updated whenever i find the time/inspiration to write. the setting is basically based off of my own experiences in college, so it's like. very self-indulgent lol.


End file.
